Cancer Care Connection

Established in 2001, Cancer Care Connection is a free national telephone resource for cancer survivors and their families, caregivers, coworkers, and others affected by cancer. A team of Cancer Resource Coaches® responds to callers with psychosocial (non-medical) questions and concerns without regard to cost or time.

The cancer resource coaches use
a growing database of over 3,600 re­sources, as well as their social work backgrounds, to respond to immediate questions, coach callers through stress­ful situations common to survivors, and at times, simply offer an insightful ear. Since the coaches are not restricted by time limits, they are able to fully answer each caller’s questions.

Many callers begin by saying, “After my doctor said I have cancer, I didn’t hear anything else.” Coaches then walk these callers through common steps of cancer care, so when they return to their doctors’ offices, they are better prepared with questions to ask and have a gen­eral understanding of what to expect.

Cancer Care Connection was established to fill the gaps in cancer information available to survivors and their loved ones.

Questions about financial issues are common, and our coaches have access to a variety of financial resources specific to cancer survivors. Internet searches are also a common request. Our coaches work with each caller to identify repu­table cancer-related sites and to put into perspective the seemingly unlimited amount of information available online.

Cancer Care Connection was estab­lished to fill the gaps in cancer information available to survivors and their loved ones. The late Roxana Cannon Arsht, Delaware’s first female judge and a major benefactor to Christiana Care
of Delaware, was troubled by the dif­ficulty she experienced in obtaining cancer information as her husband faced late-stage cancer. To fill that void, Arsht foresaw Cancer Care
Connection in the late 1990s.

Cancer Care Connection’s cancer resource coaches respond to callers throughout the United States, but
primarily from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In
addition, a licensed clinical social worker with a specialty in cancer
issues provides face-to-face counsel­ing in Delaware.

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Cancer Care Connection is a nonprofit
organization located in Newark, DE,
supported by state and federal grants,
foundations, corporations, and individual contributions.